Fabric Lamps

This is an idea that I got when I worked at a furniture store. We always had a stack of discontinued fabric samples lying around and it seemed a shame to just toss ‘em. So….

It’s about as simple as could be – a chunk of wood wrapped with fabric and topped with oak or pine. I built a lot of these lamps in all different heights, and fabrics.

The copper lamp is simply wood wrapped in thin copper sheeting. It was a “special order” from a couple at my church. The humor is that the woman liked distressed copper and her husband came home from work to find her beating up the lamp with a ball peen hammer! (And I was careful to polish it and not get fingerprints on it :P)

The first pic is another “special order” for a leather lamp with a pine top and base. The rope really made it look “Western”. (But they had a heck of a time finding a shade to match)

The bases that are not solid pine or oak are painted MDF.

Most of the hardware is available at the local hardware store, but I was particular about some brass parts. I had to special order brass parts from various websites (especially the neck).

If you want a great gift idea, build a lamp with fabric that will appeal to the person getting the gift. Cat lover=cat fabric, Lighthouse lover=lighthouse fabric…etc…

-- If you want perfection, buy plastic, if you want character, buy wood!